


"...And Other Duties as Assigned"

by ladyjax



Series: Black Books [2]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Gen, Multi, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 10:37:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2847920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyjax/pseuds/ladyjax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy (from the Broken Wing Job) takes on some new duties. Who said working in a brewpub was boring?</p>
            </blockquote>





	"...And Other Duties as Assigned"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seraphina_snape](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/gifts).



[](http://s44.photobucket.com/user/ladyjax/media/QX3LQNP_zpsa9c2c001.png.html)

**Christmas Eve**

Amy sat down at the table and smiled at everyone gathered around.  Her mother had outdone herself as usual; the decorations around the house and on the table itself were spectacular.  Now if only the rest of the night would go the same way.  She poured herself a glass of wine and took a sip.

“So, Amy, are you still working at that pub in town?”

Randolph just had to ask that question right at the moment she was mid-swallow. The wine obligingly went down the right path but it was close. Amy coughed discreetly into her napkin then put it aside before smiling at her cousin whose smirk told her he expected her to be embarrassed.

“I am,” Amy replied.  She looked around the table; dolled up in all their holiday finery, her family looked exactly like they always did: healthy and prosperous.  It was the Palavi way.  Her gaze landed on her father at the head of the table.  “As a matter of fact, I’ve been promoted.”

**

**July**

“And I’m telling you, she’s the right choice!”

“Parker, are you out of your mind? We can’t just bring somebody into this like it was nothing.”

Amy looked over at the corner of the bar just as Eliot pushed away with a shake of his head to stalk back into the kitchen.  Parker and Hardison continued to talk in hushed tones, with the blonde gesturing wildly and Hardison making a tutting noises.  Though she was curious, it was better not to ask.

After her near kidnapping and subsequent rescue by Parker, Amy began to watch her bosses a lot more closely.  She never told the rest of the wait staff what happened; she wasn’t all that close to most of them and besides, once Nate and Sophie moved on, things around the pub had settled into something that passed for normal.

At least until the trio would go away for a few days and then come back.  Sometimes they were tense, others fairly calm but definitely on alert.  When asked where they had gone, the answer was usually a business trip; maybe a trade show.  As long as the paychecks kept coming, everyone was happy.

Amy stayed curious.

She finished topping off the salt and pepper shakers and looked up just as Parker slid on to a bar stool in front of her.  It had taken a while for Parker to warm up to Amy.  The kidnapping helped a lot on that front.  More often than not, Parker would ask the occasional question about things Amy saw around the pub: people, situations, and what she thought about them.

“I like to know things,” Parker said with a shrug when Amy asked why she wanted to know.  “Sophie used to tell me that I needed to ask other people what they thought.  So I’m asking you.”

That only made sense if you knew Parker and the more Amy thought about it, the more it did make sense.  “So it’s like I’m your guide to life?” Amy asked.  Parker’s entire face lit up in a smile.

“Yes!  That’s it!”

With Parker sitting in front of her now, Amy figured it was one of those times.  “There was a guy here yesterday, older gentleman.  He looks a little shifty.”

Parker waved a hand.  “Pfft, not what I want to know.  Wait, I want to know but you can tell me later.  I wanted to ask you something else.”

Amy shrugged.  “Sure.  Fire away.”

The other woman looked from one side to the other then motioned Amy close.  Amy leaned in and Parker whispered, “How would you like to be my assistant?”

***

“Well, assistant to a brew pub owner,” Amy’s mother, Sharon said hopefully.  “That’s a step up.”

“Actually, it is.  They’re getting a lot of notice for some of the new beers they’re putting out which means travelling to different beer festivals and things like that,” Amy enthused.  “I’m taking some classes in project management and they’re willing to pay for them so yay for me expanding my skill set.”

“I thought you were going to be pursuing your art.”

Amy’s father’s voice dropped like a stone in the middle of the conversation. 

Wayne Palavi still harbored some resentment about Amy’s choices, with the crux of their disagreement centering on her moving out and taking a job at the pub. 

Amy looked at her father squarely.  “They’re very supportive of that as well. We’ve got my schedule worked out.  I cut back my time on the floor and take on more behind the scenes.

***

Hardison, Eliot and Parker all sat on one side of the table and Amy sat on the other. Between them was a small stack of papers. 

“Let me make sure I understand all…this.” Amy made a swirling motion with her hands to encompass the room. “You three are reformed criminals who’ve set up shop here in Portland to continue the work you’ve been doing for the past five years.”

Eliot looked at Hardison and Paker then back at Amy.  “Yes.”

“And you,” Amy pointed at Parker, “need an assistant because you have double booked yourself at least two times.”

“It was one time…”

Hardison rolled his eyes. “No, baby, it was very nearly three.”  Parker huffed and folded her arms across her chest and would have said more but Amy held up a hand.

“Hold that thought.”

Parker sat back and twitched an eyebrow upward, a small smirk forming on her lips.

“If I take this job, I could be exposing myself to dangerous situations, which, I might add, has already happened but that wasn’t your fault.  Plus, you’re willing to pay me,” Amy flipped through the papers in front of her, “a lot of money.”

“Oh, and we’re offering medical, a 401(K) plan as well as [Cicerone](http://cicerone.org/) training,” Hardison added as Eliot and Parker both looked on.  “What? You got to sweeten the pot.”

Eliot broke in, “Also, you and I will do some defense training. You ever do any martial arts?”

“Um, karate lessons when I was ten,” Amy replied.  “I wasn't very good.”

“We’ll work on it.”

Parker leaned in eagerly.  “So, will you take the job? I like you, you like us. You like working for us.”

“Plus the possibility of danger at every turn,” Hardison chucked in.  Amy snickered.

“Give me a day or so to think it over?”

The trio nodded and Eliot got up to move into the kitchen to prepare lunch.  As Amy slid off her own stool, Hardison cleared his throat.

“Amy.”

“Hmmm?”

“There’s something else.”  He stepped back and slipped an arm around Parker’s waist and nodded at Eliot.  “We three, well, we’re…”

“You’re a thing.  Yeah, I know.  Pretty much the whole staff knows.”

“And you’re cool with it.”

“You’re asking me to do some petty crime for the greater good and you’re worried about what I think of your sex life.”

Hardison rocked back on his heels and said, “Well, when you put it that way, I guess it doesn’t mean that much.”

**

**September**

The man walking through the pub doors was tall, dirty blonde and wearing a suit.  He also had the stormy look of a man on the edge. 

When he sat down at the bar, Amy slipped in behind the bartender on duty and said, “I’ve got this one, Phil.”

“No prob, Amy.  Holler if you need anything.”

Amy pulled a towel from her back pocket and wiped down the bar before placing a coaster in front of him.  “What can I do for you, Mr. Quinn?”

“You can tell Spenser that two contractors Parker and Hardison set me up with are a pain in the ass,” he snarled.  “Where the hell is he?”

“Away at the moment.”  Amy nodded at Phil to come back over.  “If you would come with me, please.”

The first time she’d met Quinn, Parker had whispered to her, “He and Eliot used to…you know, do the do.  Like in foreign countries and what not.”

“Really?”

She had a hard time seeing it; for all his bluster, Eliot was as dedicated to Parker and Hardison as he was to them.  As it turned out, he was there to get recommendations for contractors for one of the Black Book jobs. Hardison and Parker both recommended people they trusted and sent Quinn on his way.

Clearly, something had gone wrong.

Amy led the way to the offices in the back, and then turned right to go deeper into the conference area.  She picked up her tablet and turned on two monitors.  One displayed the hacker, Mags Shea, who did a stint in the Army after being caught by the FBI.  The other was Parker’s old friend/nemesis, Apollo.  Both of them looked mutinously at Quinn.

“We told you this would take time, but nooo, you wanted to go busting right in,” Mags led off.  Quinn turned to Amy.  “What is this?” he asked incredulously.

“They called me before you got here,” Amy replied calmly.  “This is a personnel problem and its part of my job to help fix it.  Have a seat and you three are going to talk it out.”

**

“And they worked it out,” Parker said triumphantly.  “I told you Amy was the right person for the job!”

“She basically let all three of them present their nuclear options to one another and then they calmed down is what she did,” Eliot reminded her but Parker only waved a hand at him.

“She did what we needed her to do.  I like that.”

“So do I,” Hardison said.  “Although I feel a little guilty about leading her into a life of sort of crime.”

“I heard that,” Amy’s voice floated in from the living room.  “It’s fine. I’m fine. We’re fine. And this movie is not going to watch itself.”

“Man, she’s pushy though,” Hardison muttered as he caught up a bowl of popcorn and followed in his partners’ wake.

**

Dinner passed with a few more questions followed by presents and all the attendant rituals.  Amy left as early as she could, citing a full shift at the pub the next day.  Her mother stopped her at the door.  “Your father cares about you, darling,” Sharon said as she smoothed the lapels of Amy’s coat.  “I know you don’t see your life as a waste and deep down neither does he.”

Amy sighed.  “I know, mom.  If he comes around, great.  If not.  Well, I’m doing okay.  Better than okay, in fact.”

 

 

 


End file.
